How to Decrease Stitches for the Toe in Knitted Socks
Knitted socks are done in five parts: the leg, the heel, the gusset, the foot and the toe. Once you are ready for the toe section, you will have been knitting in even rounds for a few inches to form the foot section, with your stitches evenly divided between three or four double-pointed needles. Decreases for the toe of the sock use the knit two together stitch, abbreviated "K2 tog" or "K2tog" in knitting patterns.
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Instructions
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1
Count the total number of stitches in one round of your sock foot.
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2
Divide that number by 8, then subtract 2. This lets you know how many regular knit stitches you do before the K2 tog stitch in order to decrease 8 stitches in one round.
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3
Knit the number of stitches indicated in your calculations. For example, if you had 48 stitches in your foot round, dividing by 8 gives you 6, then subtracting 2 gives you 4. The pattern for one round would be K4, K2 tog.
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4
K2 tog by inserting the right needle from left to right into the front of the next 2 stitches on the left needle as if to knit, then knit them as if they were one stitch. Pull both knit stitches off the left needle.
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5
Knit (K) every stitch in the next round.
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6
Reduce the number of stitches you knit before the decrease by one and repeat the decrease row using K2 tog to remove 8 stitches total.
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Repeat Steps 5 and 6 until you have only 8 stitches remaining.
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8
Cut the yarn, leaving a long tail for sewing. Thread the yarn need with this tail of yarn and pass the needle through the loops of the remaining 8 stitches. Remove them from the needles, and pull the yarn tail tight to close the toe of the sock. Weave in the tail end.
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Tips & Warnings
Place a stitch marker on the first stitch of each round to keep track of where the rounds begin and end. If you use a set of five double-pointed needles (instead of four) for socks, the rounds will feel less cramped, and it's easier to evenly distribute an even number of stitches for the round.
